Instead of the current tax-free shopping system for visitors, Japan will shift to a system for visitors based on refunds effective as of Saturday, November 1, 2026 — which means that visitors will be required to pay the consumption tax at the time of purchase; and then receive a refund only after completing the necessary procedures prior to departure.
Japan Will Shift to a System For Visitors Based on Refunds in November of 2026
Visitors who purchase items at designated stores are automatically exempted from the consumption tax of ten percent at the point of purchase upon presenting their passports under the current system.
According to this article from the Japan National Tourism Organization, “With the coming changes, visitors will pay the consumption tax at the time of purchase and then receive a refund after completing the necessary procedures before departure.”
The main reason to change to a system based on refunds is to attempt to exclude illegal transactions under the current rule, in which a duty-free shop sells duty-free goods without taxes. The new rules include the abolishment of special packaging for cosmetics, food, medicines, and other consumables of the maximum amount of 500,000 yen, and eliminate the need of duty-free shops to distinguish them from general goods. A duty-free shop would sell goods to visitors with tax; and then inform the duty-free sales management system of the National Tax Administration Agency of Japan of the purchase records — and then, customs can confirm the informed record and refund tax when an international traveler departs from Japan.
Additionally, items that are shipped back to the home countries of visitors via international parcels are no longer eligible for the automatic tax exemption, which became effective as of Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
The refund system purportedly aims to “improve conveniences for international visitors to Japan” while simultaneously reducing the workloads of duty-free shops.
Specifically targeted are duty-free goods that are purchased 90 days before customs confirms that visitors travel from Japan with them.
Final Boarding Call
The new system for visitors based on refunds seems more like it will increase difficulty and not improve conveniences for visitors, who may be subject to waiting in long lines for their refunds…
…and if a visitor chooses not to opt for a refund for whatever reason, the government of Japan stands to gain financially as a result. To me, that would seem to be the most important reason for the government of Japan to switch systems.
Just how many millions of yen Japan will save from not paying out refunds instead of automatically not collecting a consumption tax is yet to be known…
Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
